Who Is To Blame For Macbeth's Downfall

A Tragedy of Character: The Decay of the Red King’s Morals Taking responsibility for one's actions, particularly those with negative consequences, can be tough to do. Some people have a tendency to reject responsibility while others own up to what they have done. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, it is a point of debate as to how much Macbeth is responsible for his own actions. Although he is heavily manipulated by his wife and the witches, he is also partly to blame for his evil actions. Macbeth’s motivations and actions are heavily manipulated and influenced by the witches. When Macbeth and Banquo first encounter the witches, they plant the seeds of two of Macbeth’s crimes. They refer to him as the thane of Cawdor and as the future …show more content…
He sets himself firmly on the path of evil and immorality without any supernatural influences. After the debacle at the feast with the nobles, he reflects on his situation with his wife. He is surprisingly aware of his predicament, remarking that “I am in blood/ Stepp’d in so far that… Returning were as tedious as go o’er,” (III.iv.46). He realizes here that he is on the edge of evil and good. However, he decides to seek out the witches, who take advantage of his trust of them and help him along the path of evil that he has chosen. He further progresses along this path, stating that he will slaughter Macduff’s family and deciding that, “The very firstlings of my heart shall be/ The firstlings of my hand,” (IV.i.56). He later reflects on his evil deeds as a whole, noting that, “I have supp’d full with horrors;/ Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts,/ Cannot once start me” (V.v.76). His recognition of his crimes in this moment shows that he knows he has been committing evil deeds, consciously aware of their nature. The massacre at Fife and the Scottish civil war are entirely Macbeth’s fault, free from outside